There will always come instances of happiness, sadness, and other varying emotions in life. Events happen, whether good or bad. However, there is an overall constant emotion in a person's life, and it will be the driving force of an individual's life. For some it may be anger or bitterness. Adolf Hitler, for example, displayed this. No matter what happened, this irate man, in all acts that he performed, was driven by the force of harbored bitterness, anger, resentment, and revenge.
The thing about life, from a Christian point of view, is that it does not matter how we are at the beginning or the middle of our lives; rather, it only matters how we are at the end of our lives. It is what we become that matters to God. As long as we are alive, it is never to late to change our ways of living.
The Bible says that a child is known by his doings, and so are we. When one mentions Hitler's name, we are generally quick to judge him as a crooked, wretched man. Rarely does it phase us how he became that way. At the beginning of his life, as an innocent child, he was born into a broken family. Hitler's father was guilty of fornication, and he was also a very violent man, constantly abusing his wife and son. In the minds of children, they automatically generalize the entire world's character by what they see and who they come in contact with. All young Adolf ever knew from men was abuse, anger, and hatred. I briefly researched Adolf Hitler's life for the sake of this blog so if I am mistaken in any of my facts, please, by all means correct me. I could imagine Hitler being very introverted growing up in society in his school days. He was a smart boy and received good grades through elementary school, but later on, he quit applying himself. Some of us may be able to relate to feeling this way. It was as if we had no one to impress with our grades. We crave this love from home which we never received, and the thoughts caused by that void take up all our thinking. This may have been the case with Hitler. It is recorded that he had said that it was an act of rebellion against his father. We should also take into consideration that Hitler's mother died of breast cancer when he was only 18. He held on to this bitterness and pain for all his life, hating virtually everyone, including himself (evidenced by his suicide). At least, this is the conclusion I draw from his story.
The thing about bitterness is that it eats away at the spirit, the soul, and even the body. Hitler had various physical ailments which may have been direct results of his negative emotions. Bitterness shadows and distorts our ways of thinking. We begin by blaming our direct oppressors. Then we assume that EVERYONE is out to get us, making the world our enemy. Then we begin to wonder what we did to make the world "hate" us, causing us to think of ourselves as wicked individuals. And eventually, we turn our hatred and blame towards the one who created us, God in heaven, accusing Him of making a mistake. At that point, we falsely assume that the only one who would still love us hates us. Usually, suicide comes at that point.
Oh, that we could break this pattern. Any negative emotion can eventually channel itself into this path. Depression can turn into this bitterness. Anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, etc. can all funnel into a lasting bitterness that ends in horrible life and a miserable death.
It is said that we humans are a product of our own environment. We've been taught to do what comes naturally. If someone hits us, we hit them back. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth sort of philosophy. As a result of following that corrupt principle, the world is in the crummy shape it is in today.
I wish to share with you a few secrets of life, following Jesus Christ's examples.
I am going to paraphrase to you Matthew 5, verses 38 through 48. This is Jesus speaking here. "You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,' but I tell you, let your enemies do to you what they may, and if possible, give them a little bit more than what they ask for. You've also heard, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say love your enemies, bless them who curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that use you and persecute you. Do this so you'll be called the children of God; for He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. If you only love the people that love you, how does that benefit you? The heathens do the same. And if you only respect your neighbors, what more are you doing than the heathen?
First hearing that, you may see it as a foolish concept, but if you really think about it, it is the best thing one can possibly do. No matter who you are or what you believe, the whole world generally believes in one way or form that one reaps what one sows. Just because someone decides to plant something bad in you does not mean that you have to keep the seed and allow it to grow. THAT'S why the worlds in crummy shape! Too many people like to keep their bad seeds that others have sown in their lives. Hitler was abused. That was a bad seed planted in his life, numerous times. The quicker you get rid of the seed (or plant, depending on where it is in the growing process), the easier it is to live life. Loving your enemies is more of a benefit to you than it is to them. Evil can only be overcome with good. Learn how to instantly forgive the moment that the offense is dished out. It's a wonderful, time-saving tactic. Uproot the bad seed the moment that it is planted. Don't be like Hitler and let the bad seed germinate, then grow into a strong cedar planted by the water.
If you ever have trouble with enduring the bad seed planting, Jesus is there to bring comfort to you. He tells us to come to him, all of us that are hurt and weary, and He will give us rest. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. In other words, we can't always handle the pressures of the world, but Jesus will give us an everlasting joy that will strengthen us to handle the pressures. The secret to living a happy life is not to live problem-free, but to MAKE A DECISION to be happy regardless of the circumstances around us.
If you have allowed a bad seed to grow in the past, and you cannot uproot it yourself, Jesus is here to help. He is here to heal the brokenhearted, deliver the captives, recover sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised.
If you do not want to worship God, that is your choice. I cannot make you do so; for if I did, you heart would not be in it. You'd only be pleasing me. I have made it my mission in life to try to accurately portray who Jesus is, but mostly to let His Spirit flow through me, that people may crave to worship Him. He often speaks for Himself. If people really knew Him, I would see no reason for ANYONE to not want to worship Him. I truly believe that people who are currently against Him have never known Him nor understood Him. They have a series of misconceptions.
No one has ever accurately described to me the goodness of Jesus. It was something I discovered myself. I have tasted and have seen that He is indeed good. His presence is most excellent. He's here for me when no one else is. When friends come and go in and out of my life, Jesus is the only one who has come and stayed.
The secrets of life are in His Holy Word. In order to understand His Word, you must receive His Spirit, which is the Holy Ghost. Then He will be living inside of you, bringing understanding to your mind. He will open up your mind to comprehend things you could never have understood without the divine guidance. It is the best gift one could ever receive. In God's Holy Word are the answers to life.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
My Thoughts on Easter
The word "Easter" appears only once in the KJV Bible. It appears in Acts 12:4. (Herod was going to put Peter in prison, then bring him forth to the people after Easter.) The original Greek of this word "Easter" in this particular verse is "pascha," which means "Passover."
Let us recap the Passover story.
The Lord wanted Pharaoh to let His people, the Hebrews, go that they may serve Him. In God's mysterious way of working, He appointed Moses to subtly bring deliverance to His people. He had his mother provide a vessel for him to navigate safely through the Nile. (Pharaoh previously ordered all Hebrew baby boys to be thrown into the Nile.) The Pharaoh's daughter found him and had compassion on him, presuming it was a Hebrew child. She called the baby's mother to nurse him, but after he grew, he became Pharaoh's daughter's son. Moses was raised in Egyptian royalty while yet possessing Hebrew blood. It can be safely assumed that Moses became highly familiar with the culture of the Egyptians. Since he also knew who his people truly were, the Hebrews, he was in essence a mediator between the two. It seems to be a common thread in the Bible for the lesser to prosper, but in order for the lesser to prosper, a mediator or ambassador had to come into play. An ambassador's role is to form a metaphorical bridge between the nation he is from to the nation he is in.
One day, Moses came across an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew. After checking to see if anyone was looking or not, he proceeded to slay the Egyptian and buried him in the sand, thinking that no one saw him do that. Later on, he came across two Hebrew men who were fighting. He broke them up, saying to the one who started it, "Why did you strike him?" (I'm going to use modern-day terminology.) The man replied, "Who are you? You're not the boss of me! Are you going to kill me like you did that Egyptian?" Moses suddenly was struck with fear. "Someone knows I did this!"
The news of the murder got to Pharaoh, so Moses hightailed it out of there, so to speak. He traveled a few hundred miles east to the land of Midian and began a new life. He got married and had a son. He lived there until Pharaoh died. God then spoke to Moses through a burning bush telling him to go back to Egypt because all that sought to take his life are dead.
Moses was to tell the new Pharaoh that God wanted freedom for His people; for His children did cry out in pain of bondage after the first Pharaoh died. But the new Pharaoh's heart was hardened. It took him a while to finally let God's people go. It was at God's final plague that Pharaoh was compelled to let them go. The death angel was to pass throughout the land to kill all the firstborn. (Consider Exodus 4:22 which says that Israel is God's firstborn.) The only way to escape the curse was to take a perfect lamb, smear its blood on the doorpost of the home, and to partake of its meat at supper. In other words, the Hebrews which did this thing were saved from death by the blood of the lamb.
Many eras later, Jesus came to be the Perfect Lamb to save His people from death. The only way to avoid death, as sin sweeps across the earth today, is to apply the blood of Jesus to our lives and to partake of Him. Also consider the Last Supper when Jesus broke bread and said, "Eat; this is my body," and then lifted a glass of wine and said, "Drink; this is my blood." Jesus was that Passover Lamb of Redemption! When He sees His blood upon us, He shall pass over us and welcome us into life eternal. The "Easter" in which we must partake is an echo of the Passover that took place in Exodus. His blood is available for all nations, tongues, and generations. The shedding of Jesus' blood on the cross is for us today! Yet He has risen that we may partake of life eternal!
This is what "Easter" is to me - the Passover Lamb sacrificed on Calvary as an atonement for sin, then risen into glory.
What a blessed Savior.
Let us recap the Passover story.
The Lord wanted Pharaoh to let His people, the Hebrews, go that they may serve Him. In God's mysterious way of working, He appointed Moses to subtly bring deliverance to His people. He had his mother provide a vessel for him to navigate safely through the Nile. (Pharaoh previously ordered all Hebrew baby boys to be thrown into the Nile.) The Pharaoh's daughter found him and had compassion on him, presuming it was a Hebrew child. She called the baby's mother to nurse him, but after he grew, he became Pharaoh's daughter's son. Moses was raised in Egyptian royalty while yet possessing Hebrew blood. It can be safely assumed that Moses became highly familiar with the culture of the Egyptians. Since he also knew who his people truly were, the Hebrews, he was in essence a mediator between the two. It seems to be a common thread in the Bible for the lesser to prosper, but in order for the lesser to prosper, a mediator or ambassador had to come into play. An ambassador's role is to form a metaphorical bridge between the nation he is from to the nation he is in.
One day, Moses came across an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew. After checking to see if anyone was looking or not, he proceeded to slay the Egyptian and buried him in the sand, thinking that no one saw him do that. Later on, he came across two Hebrew men who were fighting. He broke them up, saying to the one who started it, "Why did you strike him?" (I'm going to use modern-day terminology.) The man replied, "Who are you? You're not the boss of me! Are you going to kill me like you did that Egyptian?" Moses suddenly was struck with fear. "Someone knows I did this!"
The news of the murder got to Pharaoh, so Moses hightailed it out of there, so to speak. He traveled a few hundred miles east to the land of Midian and began a new life. He got married and had a son. He lived there until Pharaoh died. God then spoke to Moses through a burning bush telling him to go back to Egypt because all that sought to take his life are dead.
Moses was to tell the new Pharaoh that God wanted freedom for His people; for His children did cry out in pain of bondage after the first Pharaoh died. But the new Pharaoh's heart was hardened. It took him a while to finally let God's people go. It was at God's final plague that Pharaoh was compelled to let them go. The death angel was to pass throughout the land to kill all the firstborn. (Consider Exodus 4:22 which says that Israel is God's firstborn.) The only way to escape the curse was to take a perfect lamb, smear its blood on the doorpost of the home, and to partake of its meat at supper. In other words, the Hebrews which did this thing were saved from death by the blood of the lamb.
Many eras later, Jesus came to be the Perfect Lamb to save His people from death. The only way to avoid death, as sin sweeps across the earth today, is to apply the blood of Jesus to our lives and to partake of Him. Also consider the Last Supper when Jesus broke bread and said, "Eat; this is my body," and then lifted a glass of wine and said, "Drink; this is my blood." Jesus was that Passover Lamb of Redemption! When He sees His blood upon us, He shall pass over us and welcome us into life eternal. The "Easter" in which we must partake is an echo of the Passover that took place in Exodus. His blood is available for all nations, tongues, and generations. The shedding of Jesus' blood on the cross is for us today! Yet He has risen that we may partake of life eternal!
This is what "Easter" is to me - the Passover Lamb sacrificed on Calvary as an atonement for sin, then risen into glory.
What a blessed Savior.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Overcoming Ignorance
My heart is struck with pain, not of selfish lacking, but rather of my sympathy for a long, lost love. I speak not of the great Lover of man's soul, but rather of His blessing entitled wisdom. Behold: "wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 'How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?'" (Proverbs 1:20-22)
Today, as I strolled pensively through the aisles of Borders, which is a fairly prominent bookstore, my mind explored several tangents as my eyes beheld the titles of many literary works of renown. To my horror, a sad but true revelation came to my mind: the world is over-seasoned with sheer ignorance.
As a testimony to you all, I was once one of the most ignorant people of all. I was young and naive, having lived a fairly sheltered life. The only thing I knew was what my parents taught me, which wasn't much as far as the real world goes, and what school taught me, also not being too informative regarding the real world. It was a fairly monotonous world in the McGrew household, on my end anyway. Not much interesting would happen. I didn't have many friends at this point in my life, so my knowledge and understanding of things were very narrow. (By the way, I am speaking of the time when I was about 14 years of age.) I became an acknowledged Christian at this point in time, having emerged from somewhat shallow experiences of New Age philosophies. I became what the world sees as a typical "Christian" today - heartless, insensitive, and ignorant! (Yes, this was the commencement of my journey in the United Pentecostal Church International.) I would spend my teenage life mostly online in forums and chatrooms doing what I thought was witnessing. Ha! It was more like heckling those I did not understand. In my mind at the time, I thought everyone knew the truth, but simply either confirmed or denied it. I actively spread seeds of condemnation to those who confessed not to be Christian. In my mind, that's what I thought witnessing was. It was solely out of my ignorance though. I knew nothing about these people's lives. For some reason, I had the notion that my proclamations of damnation would somehow scare them into becoming Christian. Basically, I treated them like they knew absolutely nothing about anything. But over the course of seven years, I have come to an understanding of many areas.
The biggest news flash that ever hit me was that people actually do things for a reason. LoL. The Lord, here at college, had me go through a series of emotional aches and pains. I know now that it was to show me what drives people to turn to other voices and options. Since I started worshipping God, I determined in my heart that I would never run from Him. The only problems in my life at the time I made that decision were loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Since I was a loner, I had no idea what would come to me in the not-too-distant future when I had to actually socialize with people face-to-face, which I had very little experience with.
Long story short, the Lord made me to experience the difficulties that people experience. Basically, whoever I critically judged at first sight, the Lord eventually made me experience the same things they experienced. For example - the gothic and/or emo culture. People have different definitions of stereotypes, but I'm speaking of the kids who generally wore black clothing all the time, donned themselves in pale make-up, accentuating the facial features with black make-up. You know who I'm talking about. They wear pain on the outside. They carry a negative spirit with them. When I became Christian and came across these people, my first thought was AHHHHHHHH!!!!! It freaked me out. Why would people want to dress that way? Why would they make themselves so scary and unpleasant looking? Instantly, I judged them, condemning them to Hell in my mind.
A few years later, the same things that haunt these poor souls came to haunt me. I became extremely depressed, lonely, and constantly considered suicide. I cannot describe the thoughts that would go through my mind. Suddenly, I learned to empathize with the people who scared me so much. Time to time, I even dressed like them. I understood them. I became one of them. They weren't so scary or unpleasant to me anymore.
I don't dress like them anymore, nor do I think like they think. I'm content and love happy garments. Now whenever I see these people, I no longer see a scary-looking being condemned to Hell, but rather I see someone whom I once was. I see a potential winner. I see a soul whom Jesus loves greatly. I see a poor soul who is just desperately looking for love that they've never known. My heart now goes out to them because I can understand. Underneath their dark and horrific outer layer lies a broken heart that needs mending. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. Certainly, He mended my broken heart, so I will reach out to my friends whose hearts are yet broken.
There are other people whom I once condemned but I later became, understood, empathized with, and then changed for the better. If you wish to know more about these others, privately message me and I will tell you.
All in all, the moral behind this message is to NOT JUDGE ANYONE, unless you know every fact. I'm pretty confident in knowing that one will never know every detail of another person's life, so no one is at liberty to judge another. Only God knows all the motives of the heart, all the thoughts of the mind, and all the events that happen in a person's life. By the way, to judge is to form an opinion about someone. Not everyone realizes that. How can we possibly dare to judge anyone only knowing a few facts?
For example, I started to judge Barack Obama a little bit because of his support of abortion. Part of me thought he was just an evil man, until I read parts of his autobiography, "The Audacity of Hope." He said that he supports abortion only because if our nation didn't allow it, he fears that women who would get an abortion anyway would look to unsafe means of doing so. They have done it in the past which is very dangerous. Sure, I still don't believe abortion is a good thing whether it's safe or not, but just that tidbit of information softened my opinion of this man. He does care.
From all that I have experienced and witnessed, it seems that Christians are sometimes the most ignorant people on the planet. In a world that yearns for answers, the ignorant Christians do not have them because they neglect to relate to the nonbelievers. Jesus was not ignorant of anything. He was quick to take portions of the doctrines of others and point out the flaws in them. The Bible says that we should not be ignorant of the devil's devices. In that case, why shouldn't we research that which is an abomination to us? If anything, it would just make us more confident in the truth that we have. We could learn to point out the flaws, but not if we don't know what we're talking about.
At Borders today, I read much of the Dhammapada, which can be easily described to us as a Buddhist Bible. The reason why I read it is because I have a friend who I am witnessing to who follows Buddhism. I want to understand where he is coming from. To my surprise, the Dhammapada actually possesses a LOT of Biblical principles, but the author of this book is long dead. The author of the Holy Bible is still alive! I'm in the process of sorting out the differences between these two books. Keep me in your prayers.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Thank you for reading. Comment or message me as you will. I will hear you and take into consideration whatever you say.
Love,
Aaron
Today, as I strolled pensively through the aisles of Borders, which is a fairly prominent bookstore, my mind explored several tangents as my eyes beheld the titles of many literary works of renown. To my horror, a sad but true revelation came to my mind: the world is over-seasoned with sheer ignorance.
As a testimony to you all, I was once one of the most ignorant people of all. I was young and naive, having lived a fairly sheltered life. The only thing I knew was what my parents taught me, which wasn't much as far as the real world goes, and what school taught me, also not being too informative regarding the real world. It was a fairly monotonous world in the McGrew household, on my end anyway. Not much interesting would happen. I didn't have many friends at this point in my life, so my knowledge and understanding of things were very narrow. (By the way, I am speaking of the time when I was about 14 years of age.) I became an acknowledged Christian at this point in time, having emerged from somewhat shallow experiences of New Age philosophies. I became what the world sees as a typical "Christian" today - heartless, insensitive, and ignorant! (Yes, this was the commencement of my journey in the United Pentecostal Church International.) I would spend my teenage life mostly online in forums and chatrooms doing what I thought was witnessing. Ha! It was more like heckling those I did not understand. In my mind at the time, I thought everyone knew the truth, but simply either confirmed or denied it. I actively spread seeds of condemnation to those who confessed not to be Christian. In my mind, that's what I thought witnessing was. It was solely out of my ignorance though. I knew nothing about these people's lives. For some reason, I had the notion that my proclamations of damnation would somehow scare them into becoming Christian. Basically, I treated them like they knew absolutely nothing about anything. But over the course of seven years, I have come to an understanding of many areas.
The biggest news flash that ever hit me was that people actually do things for a reason. LoL. The Lord, here at college, had me go through a series of emotional aches and pains. I know now that it was to show me what drives people to turn to other voices and options. Since I started worshipping God, I determined in my heart that I would never run from Him. The only problems in my life at the time I made that decision were loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Since I was a loner, I had no idea what would come to me in the not-too-distant future when I had to actually socialize with people face-to-face, which I had very little experience with.
Long story short, the Lord made me to experience the difficulties that people experience. Basically, whoever I critically judged at first sight, the Lord eventually made me experience the same things they experienced. For example - the gothic and/or emo culture. People have different definitions of stereotypes, but I'm speaking of the kids who generally wore black clothing all the time, donned themselves in pale make-up, accentuating the facial features with black make-up. You know who I'm talking about. They wear pain on the outside. They carry a negative spirit with them. When I became Christian and came across these people, my first thought was AHHHHHHHH!!!!! It freaked me out. Why would people want to dress that way? Why would they make themselves so scary and unpleasant looking? Instantly, I judged them, condemning them to Hell in my mind.
A few years later, the same things that haunt these poor souls came to haunt me. I became extremely depressed, lonely, and constantly considered suicide. I cannot describe the thoughts that would go through my mind. Suddenly, I learned to empathize with the people who scared me so much. Time to time, I even dressed like them. I understood them. I became one of them. They weren't so scary or unpleasant to me anymore.
I don't dress like them anymore, nor do I think like they think. I'm content and love happy garments. Now whenever I see these people, I no longer see a scary-looking being condemned to Hell, but rather I see someone whom I once was. I see a potential winner. I see a soul whom Jesus loves greatly. I see a poor soul who is just desperately looking for love that they've never known. My heart now goes out to them because I can understand. Underneath their dark and horrific outer layer lies a broken heart that needs mending. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. Certainly, He mended my broken heart, so I will reach out to my friends whose hearts are yet broken.
There are other people whom I once condemned but I later became, understood, empathized with, and then changed for the better. If you wish to know more about these others, privately message me and I will tell you.
All in all, the moral behind this message is to NOT JUDGE ANYONE, unless you know every fact. I'm pretty confident in knowing that one will never know every detail of another person's life, so no one is at liberty to judge another. Only God knows all the motives of the heart, all the thoughts of the mind, and all the events that happen in a person's life. By the way, to judge is to form an opinion about someone. Not everyone realizes that. How can we possibly dare to judge anyone only knowing a few facts?
For example, I started to judge Barack Obama a little bit because of his support of abortion. Part of me thought he was just an evil man, until I read parts of his autobiography, "The Audacity of Hope." He said that he supports abortion only because if our nation didn't allow it, he fears that women who would get an abortion anyway would look to unsafe means of doing so. They have done it in the past which is very dangerous. Sure, I still don't believe abortion is a good thing whether it's safe or not, but just that tidbit of information softened my opinion of this man. He does care.
From all that I have experienced and witnessed, it seems that Christians are sometimes the most ignorant people on the planet. In a world that yearns for answers, the ignorant Christians do not have them because they neglect to relate to the nonbelievers. Jesus was not ignorant of anything. He was quick to take portions of the doctrines of others and point out the flaws in them. The Bible says that we should not be ignorant of the devil's devices. In that case, why shouldn't we research that which is an abomination to us? If anything, it would just make us more confident in the truth that we have. We could learn to point out the flaws, but not if we don't know what we're talking about.
At Borders today, I read much of the Dhammapada, which can be easily described to us as a Buddhist Bible. The reason why I read it is because I have a friend who I am witnessing to who follows Buddhism. I want to understand where he is coming from. To my surprise, the Dhammapada actually possesses a LOT of Biblical principles, but the author of this book is long dead. The author of the Holy Bible is still alive! I'm in the process of sorting out the differences between these two books. Keep me in your prayers.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Thank you for reading. Comment or message me as you will. I will hear you and take into consideration whatever you say.
Love,
Aaron
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